Assurance,
or assurance of salvation is a matter that Christian theologians, preachers, and
laymen seem to talk about and discuss as if they know something about it. Most
people believe they are right and have a grasp on the “truth” of the matter.
Unfortunately much of this confidence in their concept is usually nothing more
that dogmatic wishful thinking. When the issue is examined from the Scriptures
and common sense, we can see that many have used very little discernment in
defining and accepting a concept that is used as a foundational tenant of their
theology. Their definition sounds good and meets the end of their theological
purpose, and to many, any self-examination of their concept is out of the
question. They have the “truth” and that is all that matters to them.

For
those that are open and desire to look into such an issue, I will hopefully be
able to guide you through such an examination.

When
one defines a doctrine called “assurance” from a biblical perspective, some
theologize the whole matter into something much more complicated that the
meaning of the word or the Scriptures allow.Christians from every background can hold to the meaning as laid out by
Webster. We can rejoice with the apostle Peter saying, “ Blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath
begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from
the dead.” 1 Peter 1:3.This
faith in Christ and the reality of the new–birth gives us a hope. This
“hope” gives us confidence, freedom from doubt, and boldness so we can
endure in times of trouble. This idea of assurance is one that most, if not all
Christians can agree upon.

The
difficulty comes in when some people equate the doctrine of eternal security
with the doctrine of assurance. They say, eternal security
= assurance, and assurance is = eternal security. To
them, the two terms are synonymous. They have replaced the biblical assurance
with one that is designed to meet their theological needs. Biblical assurance is
not some imaginary eternal security, but is based upon our faith in the One who
saves us, and has changed us, and has given us the sure hope of heaven, through
Jesus Christ.Assurance is not
faith in a doctrine, but in the fact of a current and intimate relationship.
Only “as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”Romans 8:14. Those that are led by the Spirit are given assurance. “The
Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of
God.” Romans 8:16.Our assurance
is not in some doctrine, but in the fact that God is confirming our vital
relationship to Him through the witness of the Spirit.

To
replace the definition of assurance with eternal security is to deviate from the
biblical standard of assurance. The ploy of bringing assurance in under the
guise of eternal security is a Trojan Horse. All Christians believe in
assurance, but not all believe in eternal security. To constantly propagate that
they are the same is the same tactic that others try to use. An example of this
is the term, “the doctrines of grace.” The Calvinist likes to use this term
as their way of defining grace. To them, the definition of grace as “unmerited
favor” does not go far enough. To them, the “doctrines of grace” is
nothing less than the 5 Points of Calvinism. Anything less than that, or in
deviation to any of their “points,” is considered as not being “grace.”
Grace is not predestination, imputation, or the perseverance of the saints. This
method of redefining terminology is all too common and should not be so.

Kenneth
Perkins, one who has corresponded with me through e-mail, commented with much
wisdom that, “ the idea of
Eternal Security is that I should be able to know now that if I were to die I
would be saved. This, however, is not the case; Jesus says that many will call
Him "Lord" but not make it into the Kingdom. Second, if OSAS is true
and those people who abandon the Church were never saved in the first place, how
can we be confident that we are saved? Is it not possible that we are not truly
saved since those other people were not truly saved even though they believed
themselves to be? The OSAS position itself begs the question it is supposed to
be able to answer: "How can we know that we're saved?" If we can't
know until we've died and not renounced Jesus, how can I be sure now that I am
saved? I think I am, but so did the apostates who left (who many who hold to
OSAS believe were never saved). If the answer is that some people have left that
were Bible-believing Christians, then how is Eternal Security true?”

Now,
if eternal security is the same thing as assurance, then assurance becomes an
impossibility, and the Bible becomes untrue, for we are told that we can have
assurance. The only way to extricate ourselves from the outcome of equating
these two doctrines is to abandon the false connection, and better yet, eternal
security.

The
Bible knows of an assurance for Christians, but not an eternal security. I am
sure that you are then asking, “if you can lose your salvation, then how can
you possibly have assurance?”This
is a fair question, and the Scriptures have an answer. We are told that, “if
we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with
another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us form all sin.” 1
John 1:7.If we are walking in the
light, we are promised fellowship, and through that fellowship, we have the
witness of the Spirit.It never
ceases to amaze me that so many people seem to think that walking in the light
is such a difficult thing to do. Constantly relying and trusting Jesus for our
guidance and as our hope, and walking in that light, is the normal Christian
life.We can have that assurance,
just as Paul found when he was delivered from his internal struggle with sin,
“ who shall deliver me from this body of death? I thank God through Jesus
Christ our Lord...”Through this
deliverance he went on to say that, “there is therefore now no condemnation
for them which are “in” Christ Jesus.”And just 15 verses later he speaks of that witness of the Spirit. Romans
7:24-25, 8:1, 8:16. We have a hope, not just because He has promised it, but
because He lives within us and has given us His Spirit to witness and confirm
it. This is the true Biblical assurance.